Saving Grace
by Le Sobriquet
Summary: Bad boys like Natsume weren't supposed to be visiting the bookstore weekly. Feisty girls like Mikan weren't supposed to have such a dark past. They were two completely different people brought together by one place, and he just might be her saving grace.
1. Prologue

**Disclaimer: **Gakuen Alice does not belong to me.

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><p><strong>Prologue<strong>

_Tick, tock. Tick, tock._

The clocked ticked along every single second of the day, as much as I hated it being so. I never really liked clocks, because aside from reminding us people about how much time we were wasting again, what else did it really do? Time flowed along, never stopping to wait. Whether you were happy, sad, injured or dying, time didn't care.

Time minded its own business, and that was perhaps the only thing I liked about it. And it was something that I really hoped the boy in front of me had in him too.

He wasn't particularly bad looking, and was in fact of a superior breed, looking at his perfect green eyes and sculpted nose. However, he might as well have gotten his brain from a baboon, because the boy certainly didn't know what rejection was even when it was staring him in the face.

"I really don't have the time," I sighed in frustration as I stacked up the books on the counter and shoved them onto the trolley. "I have a job, and this being a bookstore, it's open almost every single day. We're always busy." I looked at him pointedly as I stood up to grab hold of the trolley. Normally, I hated being the one to shelve the books, and had my co-worker do the job for me, but right now I was desperate.

Oh yes, definitely desperate, I thought to myself as I watched him raise an eyebrow at me, smiling obnoxiously. "Come on, Mikan," he simpered, "You can't possibly want to stick with your," He scrunched up his face, as if just the thought of the word disgusted Mr Rich Boy right here, "_job_ when you can be out partying with me."

"Yes, that is exactly what I've been trying to communicate to your miniscule brain for the past twenty minutes."

He opened his mouth, dumbfounded, and I mentally slapped myself. My boss had pretty much given me free rein over what I wished to do in my job, because as much complaining as I did, I was a hardworking and dedicated worker.

Somehow, I didn't think that _free rein_ allowed me to shoot my mouth off in front of customers, or even just potential ones, although I doubted that the boy before me could harness enough brainpower to even finish a book by Dr. Seuss.

"Well, look, I'm sorry. I didn't mean what I said," I lied through gritted teeth as I looked him straight in the eye, "and I'll be really glad if you don't mention it to my boss -"

"What's miniscule?"

I stopped short, my mouth hanging open. Moron, I thought derisively as I sniffed. "It's nothing. So you can go now."

"So you'll be coming with me on Friday?" He asked hopefully as he leaned over the counter, too close for my comfort.

I was about to open my mouth to say "No, you sucker," and hopefully give him a suckerpunch to wake him up a little, but a deeper voice cut into our conversation with an amused tilt to it.

"You really do have a tiny brain, huh."

My head snapped to the side so fast that I thought I would get whiplash. Well, well. Look who was here. After five whole weeks of steadfastly ignoring my existence ever since he started patronizing the bookstore, Natsume Hyuuga was now standing merely a metre away from me, actually looking me in the eyes as he smirked.

It wasn't like I was offended that Natsume had failed to acknowledge me in any way, even though I served him every single time he was in the store. Well, actually, he hadn't needed any serving. He just walked over to whatever shelf he was interested in, drew out a book at the speed of light, paid for it and left. There simply hadn't been any reason for him to talk to me -

Not like I was feeling slighted anyway.

It was just, Natsume Hyuuga was the resident heart-throb and bad boy of the high school I studied in, so I really wasn't expecting him to just come strolling in a bookstore and picking out books like Pride and Prejudice, you know? But he did.

I was a girl who wasn't blind or immune to a boy's charms, and Natsume had a truckload of it. Of course I was dying to even just say hello to him. Of course I was squealing inside when I first watched him step through the doors of the bookstore, the bell jingling in his wake like he was some sort of angel.

Then I guess it would make a lot of sense to say that I was disillusioned and a hell lot of pissed when he barely even looked at me and was out of the shop in minutes.

"Uh, I, uh?" The poor boy stuttered as he cowered before Natsume's towering height. I blinked, and he was gone.

It seemed as if the boy could run faster than a typhoon when he was up against superior forces. I scoffed, and the boy remaining – the annoying boy who had ignored my existence for five weeks, five _whole _weeks – chuckled quietly to himself.

I tried to glare at him, but found myself failing miserably the moment I melt his eyes. They were the most exotic shade of red, a colour that probably wouldn't look good on anyone else, but surprisingly, red eyes made him look like a god instead of a freak.

I slapped my hand over my eyes to prevent myself from freaking out any further. It was simply too degrading and embarrassing to be caught ogling him like that.

It was silent for a while, to the point that I almost thought he'd left, but then his voice rang out, eerily clear in the silent, empty bookstore. "Get me a book, will you?"

I opened a crack between my fingers and regarded him disdainfully. Oh, now you need my help! "You never seemed to need help in the past..."

The corner of Natsume's lips tilted a little. "Well, I need it now."

I stared at him.

"Your service is terrible."

"What?" I almost shouted as I jumped up from my seat. "_My_ service is terrible? I've been waiting for you to ask for help ever since you stepped in through that door," I jabbed my thumb at the entrance without even turning to look at it, "five weeks ago and my service is terrible? I think your lack of a need for service is terrible!"

Oh my God, I just utterly embarrassed myself. I cowered back into my seat, shying away from his humoured gaze. "Well what book do you wish to find, dearest customer?" I asked tonelessly as I stared down at the darkwood table, steepling my fingers together in an attempt to look professional.

You didn't just shout at a customer, Mikan. You didn't just shout at a regular customer just because he's hot and he obviously doesn't think you are. You didn't. Everything's going to be fine.

When I finally looked up to yell at him again for not saying anything, Natsume was grinning.

"Dear John," he replied, "by Nicholas Sparks."

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><p><strong>AN: **I am actually fully aware that I shouldn't be publishing a new story when Prophecy is still ongoing and I haven't updated Timeless at all, but Timeless is kind of on the backburner for the moment, so I feel that I can cope with two...stories? Ahaha? Anyway, this story isn't going to be long – I hope – and it's dedicated to all of you who have read and given support to my stories, because you're my motivation to keep writing!

Yeah I hope you enjoy this, and just a heads up – I'm heading out of the country for a week, and I'm leaving this Sunday, so I'm not sure whether there'll be another update before I leave. I'll try, but no promises! Enjoy this, everyone, and feel free to give me constructive criticism! :)


	2. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: **Gakuen Alice does not belong to me.

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><p><strong>Chapter One<strong>

I wanted to chuck the watermelon I was holding at the back of that boy's head, but in a place like the cafeteria, it would most probably start a foodfight, and I wasn't prepared to be hauled to the principal's office just yet. I sighed, frustrated that my not-so-carefully constructed plan of bringing hell to Ruka Nogi was coming to nought after all.

Suddenly remembering the half-eaten sandwich from breakfast that I had packed into my backpack, I smirked to myself and pulled it out from my bag, plastic bag and all. Shoving the sandwich into a nearby dustbin, I looked around furtively a few times before stuffing the piece of watermelon into the now empty plastic bag.

"I'm sorry, sandwich," I murmured as I pressed my palms together, "but your sacrifice was needed for the greater good. Once I get rid of Ruka Nogi, I'll mourn you for a full minute, so please rest in peace."

When I looked up, everyone was staring at me. Shit, was I a little too flamboyant? I picked myself up hurriedly and dusted off my jeans, dashing out of the cafeteria just as the first bell rang.

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><p>It turned out that I didn't have to go hunting for Ruka Nogi, for lo and behold, Golden Boy himself was seated in the middle row of class when I arrived at first period Math a few minutes shy of being late.<p>

I had never noticed that he was in the same Math class as I was in the past, probably because I never noticed anyone at all. But, after the fiasco in the cafeteria just now, his head stood out to me just like a beacon of light shining in the darkness. It hurt my eyes, so I kept my head down and headed towards my seat at the back of the class.

Mrs Takuya entered the classroom the moment my butt hit the chair, and I breathed a sigh of relief. She had never really liked me in the first place, so being caught late in her class was something that I fervently hoped would never happen to me. It didn't help that I was almost always only a few steps ahead of her, though.

There was a small commotion at the front of the class that I didn't pay attention to, as I was too busy trying to dig through my bag to find my Math homework that I had painstakingly completed last night, after a lot of begging, a lot of nagging, and a very irritated cousin.

I was going to be in so much deep shit if the worksheet didn't magically turn up right now. I had just resorted to holding my bag upside down and emptying all the contents when I heard the scraping of a chair beside me.

I dropped my bag immediately, turning to my left incredulously. This row was supposed to be empty except for my table! There just couldn't be anyone who would willingly venture into loser territory -

Except there was, and the intrusion happened to be in the form of one very elusive Natsume Hyuuga.

I blinked twice before my mouth dropped open. Natsume, on the other hand, was perfectly at ease, dropping his bag onto the floor beside his table and sinking onto his chair with a soft sigh.

I blinked again. Either I had completely gone off my rocker, or this was the real Natsume Hyuuga. The latter was impossible, since Natsume didn't attend my Math class, as far as I knew, so the only conclusion was that I had gone insane, for some reason.

I really didn't like the fact that I was crazy, but there was nothing to do but accept it, so I turned back to my bag sullenly and began to dig through it again. There was nothing inside except for my small notebook which I used to take notes and note down my schedule for the day. Where did that damn folder go? I brushed a hand through my already messy brown hair and sighed.

This day couldn't be any worse. First, Ruka Nogi, student council president, just had to confess to me in front of the entire school, then I had to realize that I was crazy, and now I didn't have my Math homework, which was due today, for the scariest teacher in the whole school.

I'd always had horrible luck, but today just took the cake.

And now there's this annoying buzzing in my ear that sounds ridiculously like -

" - kura, did you hear me? You're the only one left!"

- Mrs Takuya. Oh God, just kill me now.

The aforementioned woman stood in front of my desk with her hands on her hips, looking positively murderous.

I didn't know why I did it, but I turned to the Natsume that was merely a figment of my deranged imagination. There wasn't a chance that a hallucination could possibly save me from the claws of my Math teacher, but I did it all the same, along with the pleading puppy eyes.

"Sakura!" Mrs Takuya screeched as she slammed her old, wrinkly hands down on my desk. I cringed a little, and imaginary Natsume looked at me and sighed. Pulling a small, stapled stack of papers out from his bag, he placed them in Mrs Takuya's hands. "They're here."

Mrs Takuya bristled at being stopped from her attempt to murder me before sniffing and turning back to the front of the classroom.

I swallowed, and it hit me. Natsume Hyuuga just saved me from a fate worse than death, which was a two hour detention with Mrs Takuya. But how could he have... he wasn't even real!

I suddenly felt like puking all over again. "It's you," I hissed at him as Mrs Takuya started her dreary Math lesson.

A corner of Natsume's lips quirked upwards just the slightest. "Me," he confirmed.

"The Natsume who asked for a romance storybook at the bookstore last week."

"The one and only."

I stopped short for a moment before continuing, "Uh, thanks for helping me. Wait. But why are you here? Why do you have my homework?"

Natsume shrugged, his eyes glued onto the board. "I stopped by the bookstore this morning and the old man said you left this there." I kept my steely gaze on him, and he heaved a sigh, "My last timetable was a little... unconvenient, so I went to the office and requested for a change. For someone who merely received help, you sure are nosy."

I regarded him for a moment before turning back to my table. "Right. Thanks. Don't talk to me again."

I heard him laugh disbelievingly before his voice travelled into my ear again. "You didn't seem to be so desperate to avoid me at the bookstore."

I felt my face heating up, and from past experiences, it was probably a very ugly shade of red right now. "No one knew who I was at a bookstore where no one goes to."

"And people knowing you know me serves as a problem because?"

"Look, I've had my share of problems today, and the day isn't even halfway over. I've already attracted enough attention to last me for the rest of my life, and being caught talking to Mr Popular Bad Boy here isn't going to help matters, alright? I'm sorry if this offends you, okay I'm not, but while we can be aquaintances or even friends at Tony's, we can't be anything in this school. Or anywhere that people who know me are at." I spoke so quickly that I was panting a little by the time I was done, even feeling a little guilty for how harsh my words were, but I knew the consequences of being caught up with people like Natsume, and I couldn't allow myself to do it. As handsome as he was, as harmless as he was, Natsume Hyuuga would be nothing but trouble, I knew it.

It was silent between us for a long while after that, and I'd almost started to believe that he had accepted my argument and was going to let me off, when the stupid boy just had to open his mouth again. "Why are you hiding?" he asked quietly.

"Why are you so persistent?" I snapped back.

Natsume didn't talk again after that, and although a small feeling of disappointment nagged at me, I forced myself to let it go. Why couldn't he choose a better time and place to suddenly decide that he wanted to talk to me? I'd been waiting for weeks for him to acknowledge me at the bookstore, but instead he chose to started making my aquaintance at school?

He should have known that it wasn't a wise choice. The whole school knew about me, which was why no one every sat in the back with me. It was an unspoken rule – once you were seen with Mikan Sakura, you might as well have had the word 'LOSER' written in bright red ink on your forehead.

Natsume shouldn't have tried to cross the line, I thought to myself bitterly as Mrs Takuya droned on at the front of the classroom, although he sure gave up quickly enough.

I knew that I should have been feeling grateful that he had let the matter drop so easily, but I couldn't help feeling hurt that I hadn't been worth enough for him to make more effort.

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><p>"Sakura."<p>

I knew that it was coming, but I dreaded it so much that the moment the bell-like voice rang in the hallways, I contemplated making a run for it, but even I knew that in this school, it was useless trying to run from Luna Koizumi. The girl might as well have grown eyes all over the school walls, considering how she always knew where to corner me.

"Luna," I greeted flatly, not even bothering to look at her. I already knew how this conversation was going to go, and it definitely wouldn't be anything pleasant like inviting me to a tea party or something.

Luna crossed her arms and glared derisively at me. "You were sitting with Natsume Hyuuga in first period Math, I heard."

I _knew _Natsume would bring me trouble. "So?"

Luna snorted, her face turning a little red with anger. "Trying to re-integrate yourself, are we? You sure picked the best person to start socializing with, Sakura," She stepped closer to me – completely invading my personal bubble – and shoved a perfectly manicured finger into my face. I blinked, and she sneered at me. "But you'll do better to stay away from him from now on, alright? The likes of you have no right to be dirtying Natsume's presence."

As much as I would have liked to just stay silent so that she could finish her tirade sooner, I had taken enough shit today and to be honest, I just wasn't in the mood to listen to her abuse me like that, treating me like I was nothing more than trash. "Oh, I'm sure you have the right to be standing next to him," I grated out through my teeth, and Luna smirked, obviously pleased.

I pull up my backpack, turning to leave. "But first," I shouted over my shoulder, "you should check if he likes plastic, since I'm pretty sure you're full of it. Your eyes, nose, lips, even your shitty personality."

Luna's shocked face, with her pink lips opening and closing like a drowning goldfish, was perhaps the most satisfying sight I had seen for the whole day.

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><p>Miraculously, I managed to survive a whole day of school, and as I packed my bags in my last Physics class, my hands came in contact with a forgotten bag containing a now completely smashed piece of watermelon. Around ninety-percent of the bag was just full of the red juice that used to be a watermelon. I frowned, biting my lips as I remembered Ruka Nogi's passionate "I like you" in front of everyone in the cafeteria. Although the news hadn't seemed to have travelled to Luna's ears yet, it was bound to sooner or later, and unwittingly, the boy had landed me in deep trouble.<p>

It was selfish, unreasonable, and would probably make me late for my part-time job at the bookstore, but I decided that Ruka Nogi would pay for all the misfortune that I suffered through today, even if not all of it was his fault.

Hunting for his whereabouts wasn't really hard at all, for he was so popular that practically every girl knew his timetable, all hoping for a chance to 'bump' into him at one of his classes. When I reached the door of the Biology lab, which was where Ruka's last class was at, he hadn't gone out of the classroom yet. Holding the bag of watermelon juice tightly in my hand, I kept a hawk eye on the closed lab door, attracting quite a few curious and shocked stares.

It was ten full minutes later – five minutes past the time I was supposed to arrive at my job – that the lab door finally opened. Figures Ruka would be the type of student to stay back after lesson time to clear up his doubts and do errands for the teachers.

His infamous mop of floppy blonde hair appeared at the doorway, and I shrunk further behind the potted plant which covered me.

Ruka turned in the opposite direction, away from me. I gripped the bag, squeezing my eyes shut -

_I'm sorry, Ruka._

- and then I chucked the bag at the back of his head with all my might.

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><p><strong>AN: **I'm really sorry I didn't update for so long! I had a horrible case of writer's block after I came back from Korea, and was quite busy for a while too. Today's Valentine's Day, so I thought I definitely had to come up with an update! Here's hoping you guys enjoyed this. I was planning to update Prince Not-So-Charming at first, but I only managed to complete it halfway before my brain gave up, haha. It will still come up soon, so please be patient! The response for the first chapter was greatly appreciated, thanks guys! Happy Valentine's Day!


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